The New Cold War: Risk, Sanctions, Compliance Episode 25: “Can the U.S. Seize the Russian Central Bank’s Assets?”
Common Missteps When Suing the State of New Jersey and How to Prevent Them
On 1 January 2024, Foreign State Immunity Law of The People’s Republic of China (“FSIL”) came into effect, changing and clarifying the position of sovereign immunity under the laws of Hong Kong and mainland China....more
The Supreme Court recently confirmed in a unanimous decision the requirements for personal jurisdiction over foreign states when parties seek to confirm international arbitration awards, but important questions remain. In...more
In a unanimous decision on June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned a Ninth Circuit decision declining to enforce a US$ 1.3 billion arbitral award issued to Devas Multimedia Private Ltd. ("Devas"), an...more
On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision requiring a plaintiff seeking to confirm an arbitration award against a foreign state to prove minimum contacts with the...more
On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a unanimous decision in CC/Devas (Mauritius) Ltd. v. Antrix Corp. Ltd. that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) does not require plaintiffs to show that a foreign state...more
On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court in CC/Devas (Mauritius) Ltd., et al. v. Antrix Corp., et al., No. 23-1201 held that personal jurisdiction exists over a foreign entity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)...more
On June 5, 2025, in a unanimous decision authored by Justice Alito, the United States Supreme Court held that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA), 28 U.S.C. §§1330, 1602 et seq., does not require a plaintiff...more
On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court issued its unanimous opinion in CC/Devas (Mauritius) Ltd. et al. v. Antrix Corp. Ltd. et al. (605 U.S. ___ (2025)), holding that personal jurisdiction exists over an enforcement action...more
The threshold for challenging awards and their enforcement in the UK remains high, a key reason why London remains one of the busiest arbitration venues in the world and a key jurisdiction for the enforcement of arbitral...more
English High Court determines that ratification of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards does not constitute prior written agreement to waive sovereign immunity....more
On February 21, 2025, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Republic of Hungary v. Simon, holding that allegations of commingling of funds alone cannot satisfy the US commercial nexus requirement of the expropriation...more
In a landmark victory for the Republic of India, the Commercial Court has held that India did not waive its state immunity in relation to the enforcement of two bilateral investment treaty awards solely by reason of its...more
As all eyes focus on peace talks and the future of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, Russia recently suffered another defeat in the long running Yukos saga, with the English Court of Appeal confirming that Russia could not invoke...more
The Supreme Court’s January 27, 2025 decision denying the Republic of Argentina’s petition for a writ of certiorari in Argentina v. Attestor Master Value leaves unresolved a split between the federal circuit courts over what...more
In its recent decision in Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit clarified the rules surrounding the “expropriation exception” to sovereign immunity under the...more
It is anticipated that as of 1 January 2024, Hong Kong will follow the PRC in making a significant change to its concept of “sovereign” or “state” immunity which further enhances Hong Kong’s reputation as a dispute resolution...more
Some readers will be familiar with the many claims made against Spain for the alleged violation of its obligations to foreign investors under the Energy Charter Treaty (the ECT). In May 2023, the English Commercial Court...more
In its recent decision in (1) Hulley Enterprises Limited, (2) Yukos Universal Limited, (3) Veteran Petroleum Limited v The Russian Federation,1 the High Court concluded that where a party has challenged the jurisdiction of...more
NAFTA’s Future Looks Increasingly Uncertain - The United States, Mexico and Canada have now completed the fifth round of negotiations concerning the renegotiation of NAFTA, and the future of the treaty is looking...more
One of the benefits of using arbitration to resolve international disputes is the availability of worldwide mechanisms to enforce an arbitral award. For example, the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement...more
Privy Council clarifies the nature of arbitration clauses, but uncertainties about the clauses’ effect still remain. “Non-exclusive” arbitration clauses provide that disputes “may” be referred to arbitration (rather than...more
On June 14, 2016, the Islamic Republic of Iran sued the United States of America in the International Court of Justice (also known as the “World Court” or the “ICJ”) in the Hague, alleging that the U.S. government had...more
Those doing business with foreign governments would be wise to adhere to the dictate of caveat venditor: seller beware. Cross-border “government” contracting often involves doing business not directly with the sovereign...more
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) has just released the full award of the Tribunal in Philip Morris Asia Limited (Hong Kong) v. The Commonwealth of Australia, which was rendered in late 2015. We previously published...more
TRADE POLICY - TPP RUNS INTO HEADWINDS - As predicted in past blog posts, on December 28, 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US Election Debate was complicating the passage of the Trans Pacific...more